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winter raw food eating

elizabethhelizabethh Raw Newbie

The winter months are fast approaching, and I may be approaching a dilemma with raw foods. My concern is more of a philosophical one: just how natural is it to eat imported fresh fruits and vegetables in an environment where none can grow because of the weather? Does this contradict the whole idea of the natural raw food diet? I am not denying that raw food is the natural way, since our body is designed to live near the equator, but since humanity has spread out, fresh food could be a problem in the winter. I’d also appreciate anybody who can turn me on to a good winter warming raw food dish. Thanks!

Comments

  • LucyLucy Raw Newbie

    Hi Elizabethh, I think that a raw soup is great for the winter,even so it is not that hot.You can make a “hot” raw soup warming some water in the stove and blending the vegetables,miso,cayenne,salt in the vitamix and it will be great ! I do veggie burgers,and lightly steamed veggies,smoothies,and a lot of sweet treats like nuts and fruits in the food processor.

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    I know what you mean. I wonder if humans are meant to live in the colder regions of earth at all. We seem to be perfectly made for tropical rainforests, not snow, ice and wind.

    Curries, warm soups, dehydrated food(because it is dry, fresh raw food recipes are always wet), cayenne pepper are all great winter warmers.

  • People have always stored food and made jellies, jerky etc. Southwestern indians would dry corn and beans and use them. Even apples, potatos, carrots, etc can be stored in a root cellar for months. So are you saying we shouldn’t eat these things? You can dry all kinds of fruits and vegetables, make fresh carrot juice, grow many different kinds of sprouts etc. Mexicans eat sundried melon like candy. So it seems like root vegetables and squash would be more abundant ans it would be better to eat those. They also have carbs which are good to eat in the winter. Dried peas are a food that can be stored and should be eaten for their high protein content and vitamins. Are you saying that it is more natural to go back to eating meat during the winter?

  • Morning_theftMorning_theft Raw Newbie

    It actually does seem to be more natural do be eating raw meat during the winter, in my opinion. Now before anyone gets upset, I’m not advocating meat eating at all. My point is mostly that the most natural thing would be to eat something that rich that is abundant in northern areas during the winter months. The other very natural thing to do is to migrate away from here. I would not say that drying and storing is natural. The raw food diet (in my own opinion) is imitating practices that were before that, before civilized humanity, when humans did not store anything but just forage for their food. So it might not be the best example. That is not to say that once it gets colder you have to move away to Florida or kill a bison and keep it in the snow until it’s done. :c) There’s no harm in keeping warm with fattier, warming foods for now, and yes, while importing things is generally not good for the environment and not very natural at all, keep in mind that nothing is truly natural at this region, your body isn’t built to survive in this climate, and you cannot go foraging like your ancestors.

  • humanimalhumanimal Raw Newbie

    May I suggest that drink more hot teas during the colder seasons. Teas are made with boiling water, yes, but this is the only efficient way to get the best effects from them. The heated liquid extracts more antioxidants and makes them more potent and effective. Many will say just to steep them in warm water or in the sun, but there are two problems, warm water will not extract all the goodness and it would basically be a waste of your money, secondly, where I come from colder climates means less sunlight :) Another suggestion would be to eat warm dehydrated foods and warmed vegetable juices to make broths for soups. Add more spice to your meals as well. Cayenne, ginger, garlic, and cloves are all good options to both increase body heat and strengthen the immune system. (try my immunity soup recipe that I recently posted ) Ok I think I have spoken enough here :)

  • I agree that eating raw in the winter doesn’t make sense. What did we do during the Ice Age? But then I look at the world today and a lot of what we do doesn’t make sense (owning a blender, juicer and dehydrator is a real step up from how our ancestors prepared food) so I think maybe humanity is all about finding new ways to do things. I do believe that at one time it was natural for humans to eat meat (Ice Age) as we were extremely physical and burned it up because we spent the whole day doing things, living in adverse conditions, and nothing fresh was available. But I feel now we don’t have the need for heavy cooked protein and have become “higher” beings where we use our brains to create numerous nutrious meals that have the highest potency possible. So now we can avoid diseases or ailments that maybe kept our ancestors from living long lives. We can thrive in our unique ability to do things any way we like!

    The only thing I’m worried about is if there was world-wide power outage and nobody could operate their blender, juicer or dehydrators. Also if importing/exporting foods stopped, we’d then be forced to forage for what was available and would most likely resort back to our more natural instincts of eating what was immediately available in our region.

  • I am a huge foraging freak just for this reason! Its essential to know what is edible and how to prepare it to make it edible and yes that means if I was in a survival situation I would definatly cook my food if need be to survive! The world is getting smaller and it is good that we are able to eat raw and vegan and we need to be grateful for our lives that are so rich and abundant that we can make choices for our spiritual , emotional and physical wellbeing. Many other poeple if not most are just hoping to eat, ANYTHING they can to survive. Thanks and praises, gratitude for my life of plenty!

  • sweetpeasweetpea Raw Newbie

    I believe that is why we started cooking and hunting meat. Because during the winter when food was scarce, we would hunt or fish to survive. We are also meant to migrate/live in areas where food is most abundant, just watch the animals.

    However, today we are conscious evolving beings and it is a question of our evolution in regard to how we eat. Also, we know more about health and that we can sustain ourselves without cooking (flesh). Gabriel Cousens work is very good for giving reasons to be a live fooder and how to balance in cooler climates. We also have access to a greater amount of food through stores etc. We should however eat foods that are available the most in our own local (eating wild edibles in particular can help us acclimatise to our environment) Ayurveda also helps to show how we can eat for our constitution (some people feel the cold more than others). We rarely use central heating here and I have to follow a very warming diet in the winter with lots of soup, spices, flax crackers, herbal teas etc. Extra exercise in the winter also helps. Most people will put on the heating though and continue eating wrong for the climate outside.

    One of my favourite soups is a rich tomato soup with butternut, spices, bell pepper etc. More acid foods and root vegetable are suitable in the winter. Eating juicy fruits will not add ‘fire’ to the system.

  • Ok, I’ve only been close to 100% raw since May 07… and I’ve done great. My RA is almost a memory and I’ve lost 50 lbs!!! not to mention feeling so much more alive than I’ve ever been. But I’m a little scared about what’s going to happen this winter. I’ve always been a cold person. I live in western Nebraska and I’m outside most of the winter moving snow, breaking ice, feeding my herd of horses, etc. I’m cold all the time and that was on SAD.

    So – since being raw is new to me, will I actually be colder than before?!

    I’ve read the other posts and I’ve got to say I’m worried about myself. If I do heat a little soup or make a cup of tea will it push me into eating a baked sweet potato? Now I know for most of you being raw is a lifestyle. But for me, the raw is keeping my rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia away. I CAN’T be anything but 100%. I’ve done 75-80% and it’s not enough to keep the pain away. I’m sitting here freezing my tootsies off and I don’t know what to fix myself for breakfast.

    HELP!!!

  • queenfluffqueenfluff Raw Newbie

    I agree that humans were meant to live in tropical climates specifically near the ocean (sort of like Blue Lagoon). I mean aren’t we the only species alive who wear clothes? We could not handle the cold at all with out them?

    I don’t think we were meant to live in heavily forested areas (how could we handle all the mosquitoes!) either.

    I find that eating warmed up soup and stuff right out of the dehyrator that is warm helps. Of course, I have a million layers of clothes on too since I can’t live like Blue Lagoon. I actually have a harder time staying raw in the summer but it is because of all the parties and events going on that never have any raw food at them (except the raw potlucks I go too).

    I agree with the foraging too. We picked pounds upon pounds of wild grapes yesterday!

  • elizabethhelizabethh Raw Newbie

    wow! thanks for all the responses, i’ll definitely be taking a lot of this advice. and i love curry and cayenne so that made me happy=D

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